Emilia's Journal

Dear Emilia,

Over the holidays you were able to meet your aunts and uncles, some of your great aunts and uncles, and of course saw your grandparents! You even got to meet Great Grandpa Noerenberg who came from California. Here are pictures of some of them getting some snuggles with you.

And that is just a fraction of the people who came to meet you after you were born! You will be seeing a lot more of these people as you grow up.

Love, Mom

Emilia-

Before you were born, I looked and looked for a quilt for your bedroom. I didn’t know what you would like, but I knew it had to be unique and pretty special. Every thing I saw just didn’t fit … too much pink, too ruffley, too busy, too boring. Then your Auntie Jean and her mom, Jan offered to make you a quilt and matching accessories. Jean made the curtains and bed skirt, Jan made you the quilt and pillow. The result is a room created just for you with lots of love. It is both completely unique and special, and seems to suit you perfectly!

Love, Mom

Dear Miss Emi,

I haven’t posted in awhile because you and I have been busy. What have we been doing? Well, you have been busy growing and I have been busy trying to keep up with you. Last week your Dad went back to work. It has been a challenge trying to do things without an extra set of hands. You also turned 5 weeks and I turned 30 + something. While I don’t feel much different, you seem to change by the minute. 

You are now sleeping up to six hours at a time during the night and are starting to smile at us. You also have had your first winter outings to take Yeti for a walk. 

I bundled you up and put you in the front pack, and then put one of Dad’s jackets on and zipped it over you. You looked adorable, but I think I looked quite funny with a big bump in the front, because all the people in their cars were staring. 

We went to our second ECFE class and while you slept through the first one, this one you loved your infant massage. You have also spotted the mobile over your swing for the first time. You still like to take quite a few naps during the day, but this helps me get some things done around the house. You get quite fussy in the 

evenings, but I am told I was the same way. Luckily for us, you love your pacifier because it helps quite a bit. Just like I had, you have also gotten a bad case of infant acne. Dad calls you his “little teenager,” but fortunately this bout will only last a couple weeks. You also met two new friends who are just about your same age, Milena and Finn.

Your first friend, Yeti, and you mostly ignore each other- but I am sure that someday you will be best buds (especially when you start eating solids!)

While each day brings new challenges as we learn about each other, it also brings surprises and joy. I look forward to seeing what the next couple weeks have in store!

Love, Mom

Dear Emilia,

It has been a busy last few weeks! You’ve had a whole bunch of new firsts, not the least of which were your first time you met all of your aunts and uncles, first Christmas and first road trip.

The first road trip was a visit to Wisconsin, and as far as I can tell, you did not come back a Packers fan.

We haven’t posted much for the past week, we’ve been spending a lot of time doing this:

Thankfully, you have been sleeping much more regularly the past few nights. Most of our parent-friends have said that as soon as I utter or type the fact that  you are sleeping better, you will cease to sleep with any consistency. I’m hoping that you will buck the trend.

You’re almost 5 weeks old now, and you’ve begun to smile at us when we say your name, or when you make eye-contact with us. With each day you seem to linger in our eyes a bit longer. You’re also making some very distinct noises now, new little babbles seem to be popping up here and there.

I have to go back to work on Monday, something that will be very hard for me to do. I’ve loved seeing you nearly every moment of every day since you’ve been born. I guess this is just the first of many times when you’re going to be growing up without me being able to witness it all. Given all of the changes you’ve already gone through, I think you’re going to be showing me new things each night when I get home from work.

Love, Dad

Dear Emilia,

Today your Grandma K gave you a special gift. It is a locket with an “L” on it that belonged to your Great Grandma, Linnea. While you will never get to meet her, you are named after her because she was a very special person.

Great Grandma Linnea was a very happy, social and loving person. She was always whistling a tune, and she told me that if she ever stopped whistling, then I would know that something was wrong. She had lots and lots of friends and loved to throw parties. She would introduce me to her friends and proudly share my latest childhood accomplishment, which always made me feel special. She was the type of person who could never say no to someone or something in need. For this reason everyone came to her with animals that needed a home. For this reason your Grandma K grew up with dogs, cats, birds and even a mouse. She would always tell me how handsome your Dad was, and although she did not get to see us get married- I knew she was hoping we would.

You carry a little bit of her with you, and this necklace will help remind you of that. I know she would have been beaming with pride for you too. 

Love, Mom

Emilia,

Inevitably, the first question that people pose when they meet you is “who does she look like?” The answer to that question is complex because each day that seems to change. It also seems to differ from person to person. We’ll let you decide for yourself.

While you certainly will have bits of your Dad and I in how you look and in your personality, the combination is uniquely yours. We enjoy discovering that each day.

Love, Mom

Dear Emilia,

Today is your first Christmas! We have a few presents for you here, and Mom and I exchanged a few presents too, but nothing compares to the gift that you have been.

Lifting you up out of the basinet each day is a new little gift. Each day we get to enjoy watching you grow in little ways. It’s hard to believe sometimes that you have changed so much already, but you have! Here you are in the hospital when you were two days old:

And here you are today in the same outfit on Christmas morning:

A year from now, we’re going to need to look back at these pictures to remind ourselves of how small you were at first!

Today will be a big day (as was yesterday!). You’ll be meeting your Uncle John and Aunt Jean for the first time, and you’re going to spend a lot of time in the arms of those who love you. Luckily you haven’t grown so much that we can’t hold you all day long!

Merry Christmas Emilia, we love you.

Mom and Dad

Dear Emilia,

While holding you, I can’t help but notice that you are extremely intrigued by the following sights.

I’ve shot these as best as I can tell from your point of view:

Love,

Dad

Dear little Emi,

When we first told your Aunts and Uncles that we were pregnant, your Aunt Jean asked what we were going to call you. I asked, “What do you mean, what are we going to call the baby? We don’t even know it is a boy or girl.” She then informed us that all growing babies needed a name, and if we didn’t pick one she was going to call you Cletus the Fetus. Well,  I wasn’t going to allow anyone to refer to you as “Cletus the Fetus!” I then informed her that “Super Baby” or “Baby Awesome” were acceptable names for you.

When Uncle Joey came home from college for Christmas, he made sure everyone knew the first name we had given you.

We think your first given name suits you just fine!

Love, Mom

Dear Emilia,

Today you are two weeks old! You’re growing a lot every day, and you’re even more interested in looking around and investigating the world.

We’ve spent a lot of time together in the past couple weeks listening to music. Today we listened to Wilco as you laid on my chest and turned your head from side to side.

Yesterday you had your first official doctor’s appointment, you had a good time looking at the large mural in the waiting area.

Everything went great! We filled out a chart that had all of your activities on it, and you were already doing a few things from the 1 month age. (Lifting your head and chest up when you’re on your belly.

Here’s your growth chart:

I used metric so that we could keep it straight (that’s what they use at the doctor’s office), but for the record, you now weigh 7lbs and 13 oz! You’ve gained 10oz since your birth. You’re also 20 3/4″ tall, which puts you at the 76th percentile for your height. I think you might be tall like me!

We’re off today to ECFE (early childhood family education), so you might meet some new friends today!

Love, Dad